Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain

Private collection (the UK).

Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas.

Among the works of Warhol, who rarely went beyond the context of American culture, there are four colourful portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. They were made based on official photographs taken during the celebration of the silver jubilee of the august person of the United Kingdom. The artist chose a bright background for her image – red, pink, blue and violet. The appearance is idealized – Warhol often resorted to such a decision. No wonder Hackett (the editor of “Andy Warhol’s Diaries”) noted that Andy “works like a plastic surgeon: stretches the skin, straightens noses, smoothes wrinkles”. Interestingly, the background contains multi-coloured squares, which in some places “run over” the hairstyle and shoulders of the character. This method was a meaningful innovation of Warhol in his usual silk-screen printing technique. In 2012, the Queen of Great Britain bought all four of her portraits.